Confirmed: Tampa Bay Lightning Will Not Extend Defenseman’s Contract

Defenseman Matt Dumba will be eligible for unrestricted free agency for the second consecutive offseason because his current team has declined to extend his contract. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period stated earlier today that the Tampa Bay Lightning will let Dumba to enter free agency, particularly in light of the team’s recent acquisition of Ryan McDonagh from the Nashville Predators.

Dumba’s five-year, $30MM deal with the Minnesota Wild expired last summer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. Dumba was having a 14-goal, 50-point campaign the year he first signed his contract extension with the Wild organisation, but he was unable to maintain that level of play.

After witnessing a sharp decline in his performance during his final years in Minnesota, Dumba agreed to a one-year, $3.9MM deal on August 6 of last year with the Arizona Coyotes. Dumba’s contract with the Coyotes was seen as an easy gamble on his part because he had better access to powerplay time and had instantly established himself as one of the team’s finest defensemen on paper.

Unfortunately, Dumba’s performance in Arizona did not go as planned, and his subpar play caused him to drop rapidly down the depth chart. Unable to muster any offensive output, Dumba finished with a -13 rating after averaging just over 20 minutes of ice time per game, and he finished with four goals and ten points in 58 games.

Just before the deadline, Dumba was eventually dealt to the Lightning organisation in exchange for a 2027 NHL Draft fifth-round selection. Dumba, who was mostly brought in as depth because of Mikhail Sergachev’s season-long injury, would only record two assists in 18 games for Tampa Bay.

Dumba shouldn’t be expecting to make nearly as much as he did during the 2023–24 regular season going into this summer. Similar to his choice to sign with the Coyotes the previous season, Dumba will most likely need to hunt for a team that is significantly short on defensive depth, but at a far lesser cost.